By Jason Powell

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WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Greensboro, N.C.

[Q1] The show opened with a video that recapped John Laurinaitis attacking John Cena with help from Lord Tensai and Sakamoto last week... Justin Roberts introduced John Laurinaitis. As Big Johnny headed to the ring, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show from ringside. Laurinaitis introduced himself and his titles. He said he won't let anyone, including John Cena, question his authority.

Eric Cartman's POV: Respect My Authoritah!!!

Laurinaitis said he will continue where Brock Lesnar stopped with Cena. He said he will show everyone how skillful and dangerous he can be. He said he won't apologize to Cena for striking his injured arm. He said he wasn't reprimanded by the WWE Board of Directors because they understand he's tough but fair. He said he requested that John Cena not appear live on this show.

Powell's POV: That clicking sound is made up of remote controls being used by women and children across the country.

Johnny said he wanted Cena to have physical therapy on his arm so he has no excuses. He said Cena will appear live via satellite in an interview with Michael Cole. He said Cena will apologize for making fun of his voice. He said there will be severe consequences if anyone mocks his voice.

Laurinaitis said his voice wasn't always like that. He said he was injured during a match with Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, but that didn't stop him from becoming the biggest superstar in Japanese wrestling history. He showed videos "You could say I was the Hulk Hogan of Japan," Laurinaitis said. He said he was Steve Austin and The Rock all rolled into one. He said he turned down WWE when they approached him with a lucrative offer.

"But for one night and one night only at Over The Limit, bigger than Rock vs. Cena, bigger than Brock vs. Cena, you will see for one night only Big Johnny, John Laurinaitis, vs. John Cena," he said. C.M. Punk's music interrupted and he headed to the ring. He was able to remove the cilantro from his teeth.

Punk said he was there to help Laurinaitis by telling him what the people want. He said the people don't want to see him. The fans cheered. He mocked Laurinaitis's revisionist history regarding Japan. Punk said Laurinaitis placed all of his chips on Lesnar and then Cena beat him, so he got embarrassed.

Punk said the reason Laurinaitis had to compete in Japan is because there wasn't a person who would pay to see "your rotten ass wrestle." Punk said Laurinaitis is a joke. Laurinaitis told him to be very careful. Punk said that when he beats Daniel Bryan at the pay-per-view, he's going to watch John Cena beat Big Johnny. Laurinaitis asked if he was finished. Punk called Laurinaitis stupid, ugly, said he had no friends, and called him a gigantic toolbox.

Laurinaitis said that he would pummel Punk down to the ground if he wasn't training for his match with Cena. He said that Punk will instead face someone who knows the word respect. He announced that Punk would be taught a lesson when he faces Lord Tensai. Punk kept a serious face. He said he had a feeling he would say that. He said he looks forward to the challenge almost as much as he looks forward to watching Cena twist Laurinaitis into a pretzel and forcing him to tap out...

[Q2] A shot aired of Big Show walking backstage. Cole said Show would get his rematch with Cody Rhodes after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: A good opening segment. Punk did a good job of explaining why Laurinaitis is so upset with Cena by pointing out that he beat his guy Lesnar. Laurinaitis was effective in putting heat on himself, though I'm still not sure whether it's enough heat that the average fan is going to order the pay-per-view to see Cena shut him up.

Backstage, Laurinaitis was texting when he bumped into Big Show. Laurinaitis yelled at him and asked if he was stupid. Big Show mocked Laurinaitis's voice. They went there separate ways and Eve was shown watching the exchange...

1. Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show for the Intercontinental Title. Show got off to a good start, so Cody grabbed his belt and tried to leave. Show caught up to him momentarily, but Cody took another powder and headed to the stage. The referee counted to ten. Cole emphasized that the title couldn't change via countout.

Big Show defeated Cody Rhodes via countout in 1:55.

Show took the mic and told Cody not to be like that. Cody headed backstage. Show said it would be worse if he had to go backstage to find him. Eve's music played and she headed to the ring. Eve entered the ring and said, "Apologize." Show asked her for what. She said for making fun of Laurinaitis's voice.

Show tried to say he was just playing around. "Apologize," Eve said sternly. She insisted that he apologize to her, the people, and Laurinaitis. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry," Show said. Eve said she didn't ask him to say he was sorry, she asked him to apologize. She told him there isn't much of a need for a seven-foot-tall, 440 pound freak outside the business. She demanded he apologize.

"I apologize for making fun of John Laurinaitis's voice," a frustrated Show replied. "Happy?" Show left the ring and Eve remained with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Cole praised Eve for doing the right thing via his commentary... The announcers hyped Punk vs. Tensai, and Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio for later in the show... [C]

Powell's POV: Whatever happened to the babyface stepping in and not allowing the referee to count out a fleeing heel? Anyway, the first 30 minutes of the show has been all about Big Johnny. You can question the decision to put him in the pay-per-view main event, but putting all this focus on him tonight is perfectly logical given that they did put him in that main event. Eve continues to do an excellent job in her heel role.

[Q3] Highlights aired of the WWE Tag Title change from last week...

2. Kofi Kingston (w/R-Truth) vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero, Jack Swagger). Stars of USA Network's "Common Law" were shown at ringside. A.W. was shown watching a backstage monitor with Primo, Epico, and Rosa. Mason Ryan also entered the picture. Lawler said A.W. may be trying to build a stable just as Vickie was trying to do.

Cole said Lawler's contract is coming up and he might want to talk with A.W. King said he is more than happy with his deal. Late in the match and with Vickie distracting the ref, Swagger tripped Kingston as he was trying to jump off the second rope. Ziggler hit his finisher and scored the pin...

Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston in 2:15.

Backstage, John Cena prepared for his interview with Michael Cole. He had his arm in a sling and was shown talking with a crew member... [C]

Powell's POV: A stable for A.W. I love it! I assume they are setting up a tag title match between the two teams that involved in the match. I'd love to think this is the beginning of a Ziggler push, but it didn't look like it to me.

A graphic touted that WWE Raw beat every NBA playoff game broadcast on TNT in the ratings...

Michael Cole stood in the ring and interviewed John Cena via satellite. Cena said he had no new damage to his arm. He said he was medically cleared, but now he has to get his elbow drained twice a day because of the Laurinaitis attack. He said a group of doctors advised him against competing for the next few months.

"That's okay, because I strongly recommended in my professional opinion that they have no idea who they are dealing with," Cena said. Cole asked if he was surprised that Laurinaitis wasn't reprimanded. Cena said they actually contacted him. He told them to forget anger management courses and not to fire him until after Over The Limit.

Cole said he's been so impressed by Laurinaitis's work in Japan that he questions whether Cena is actually scared. Cena laughed and then got fired up. He said that in 13 days, he will kick John Laurinaitis's ass. Cena's music played to conclude the interview...

A shot aired of Kelly Kelly and Layla walking backstage with big dorky grins on their faces while they stared off in the distance in opposite directions...

Powell's POV: Keep in mind that the live crowd may be dejected because Cena's interview was conducted via satellite, but the crowd wasn't into that segment. There were some cheers, but it's not like they were hanging on Cena's every word despite Cena showing good fire.

[Q4] [C] 3. Kelly Kelly and Layla vs. Natalya and Maxine. Beth Phoenix was on commentary and said she's tired of talking about her ankle injury. Highlights of a WWE website interview with Layla were shown. Cole noted that Layla will defend the title against Beth at the pay-per-view. Beth questioned what Layla did to even earn a title match.

Cole said Maxine is a regular on WWE NXT. Second later, Lalya pinned Maxine after hitting her finisher. Beth stood up and stared at Layla after the match...

Kelly Kelly and Layla defeated Maxine and Natalya in 1:00.

Powell's POV: Millions of casual fans were shocked to learn that NXT is still around. Seriously, WWE never promotes that show on Raw. It will be interesting to see whether Beth is ruled medically unable to perform again, which would open the door for Kharma or someone else taking her spot in the match.

The announcers hyped Santino Marella's Youtube show and a clip was shown...

Ring introductions took place for the tag match, complete with Ricardo Rodriguez introducing Alberto Del Rio...

[Q5] 4. Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez). The faces got the majority of the offense early on. Lawler mocked Cole for asking John Cena whether he's afraid of John Laurinaitis. Jericho ran Sheamus's taped arm into the corner and then threw him through the ropes, into the ring post, and to the floor as the show went to break.

After the break, Jericho was working over Sheamus with a chinlock. Later, Orton checked in and also spent time selling for the heels. Orton made the hot tag to Sheamus at 12:00. Jericho went for the Liontamer, but Sheamus flipped out of it and hit the Irish Curse.

Sheamus went for the cover, but Del Rio broke it up. Orton hit the RKO on Del Rio. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Jericho moved and the kick nailed Orton. Jericho hit the Codebreaker on Sheamus and scored the pin.

[Q6] Afterward, Sheamus helped Orton to his feet and ate and RKO for his trouble...

Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio defeated Sheamus and Randy Orton in 13:00.

The announcers hyped Punk vs. Tensai as the main event... [C]

Powell's POV: An entertaining tag match and I really liked the finish and the outcome. Lord knows Jericho needed a win, and Del Rio needs heat heading into the pay-per-view. Any chance they turn the pay-per-view match into a four-way? Jericho has the pin on the champion, and obviously Orton and Sheamus have issues now.

Cole hyped the first Q&A interview with Brodus Clay is in the new WWE Magazine...

Backstage, John Laurinaitis told Eve that Big Show's apology was insincere and hollow. She agreed and said she was going to talk to him. Chris Jericho entered the room and said he deserves a title match. Alberto Del Rio protested since he has the shot. Randy Orton showed up and said he deserves the title match. Orton attacked the heels.

Sheamus showed up and they brawled. The heels fled the room. Sheamus confronted Orton. Sheamus said his kick was accidental. They bickered until some referees entered the room. Laurinaitis announced that the title match for Over The Limit will now be a four-way...

Powell's POV: Considering I assumed that's where it was going, I think they did a pretty good job of establishing the match. I wonder if this will ultimately lead to Sheamus vs. Orton at SummerSlam in a singles match. Either way, the four-way is logical because Del Rio challenging doesn't strike me as a something people will pay to see. However, a four-way, particularly with the Orton involvement, seems more marketable.

Brodus Clay and his dancers performed the entrance routine. Clay appeared in a pre-taped video to remind viewers to call their momma on Mother's Day. The Miz came out and cut a promo as he walked to the ring. Miz said that instead of competing for the WWE Championship, he has a match with "this." Miz compared Clay to King Hippo from Mike Tyson's Punchout and told him to call his momma to tell her that he's The Miz and he's awesome...

5. Brodus Clay (w/Dancers) vs. The Miz. Cole hyped the match as "a real treat" because it was the first time Clay and Miz had met in the ring. Clay tossed Miz to ringside early. The dancers laughed at him. Miz flashed them a nasty look. Clay went after him, only to take several boots from Miz as he reentered the ring. Miz hit his corner clothesline and a move off the ropes and went for a couple of pins.

[Q7] Cole said Clay was in trouble. Miz remained on the offensive for a couple minutes, but Clay came back with a side slam. Clay ran into a boot from Miz, but then caught him coming off the ropes with a suplex and followed up with a big splash for the clean pin...

Brodus Clay defeated The Miz in 4:30.

Powell's POV: Brodus Clay just pinned the former WWE Champion! Okay, that's how the announcers should sell it. Instead, Cole told us that Clay was impressive tonight. Ugh. This was Clay's longest televised match since he became the Funkasaurus. It was pretty slow, as Miz used chinlocks that took the crowd out of the match a couple of times.

The latest Be A Star video was shown...

Powell's POV: Mark Henry said he was bullied as a kid. Dude is and presumably was huge. So if he was bullied, then maybe it's time we accept that kids are just dicks to one another and it's that simple. Sure, the WWE or TNA wrestlers showing up at the school might make them be nice to each other for a day or two, but then they'll forget and go right back to being dicks again. Oh, and don't be bullies, kids. There. Happy?

A graphic touted something about WWE's social networking... A video recapped the Brock Lesnar and Triple H segment from last week...

The announcers spoke as shots of Triple H conducting business wearing a brace on his arm were shown. They said Triple H would be on the show next week. They said Brock Lesnar was invited to Raw this week and he declined. They said Lesnar sent a legal representative to speak instead...

Brock Lesnar's music played and played. Finally, Paul Heyman walked out and headed to the ring. He said today's WWE is much different than it was when he first represented Lesnar ten years ago. Heyman said it's so image conscious. He said it was the general manager who signed Lesnar to a contract.

[Q8] Heyman said Lensar made "a few simple demands" that were agreed to and the viewers were witnesses to. He said Lesnar feels betrayed. Heyman ran through Lesnar's list of accomplishments. He said that he knows and the fans should know that Brock Lesnar is an honest man. He said Brock said he was going to be an ass kicking machine and that's what he did. He said Brock said he was going to hurt people and he did.

Heyman said Lesnar personally asked him to come to Raw and read an official statement: He started by saying, "And I quote - I came back to bring legitimacy to WWE. That's exactly what I did. And how was I rewarded? With the same corporate B.S. and politics that led me to leave eight years ago. I don't regret what I did to John Cena. I embarrassed him.

"Another guy I embarrassed was Triple H. He's always been jealous of me. Triple H lasted nearly one hour in a cell with the Undertaker, but he couldn't last one minute in a fight with me. Triple tried to push his weight around because now he has an office job. I had an agreement with the company and he broke it, so I broke his arm.

"I don't care about Triple H. I don't care about you people. And I don't care about the corporate suits at WWE because, I, Brock Lesnar, am never coming back. Because, I, Brock Lesnar, quit." Heyman tossed the mic aside and left the ring...

At ringside, Cole said he assumed Lesnar would have been fired had he shown up at Raw. They quickly turned the focus to John Laurinaitis and replayed clips from his segment with Punk from earlier in the show...

Lawler announced Punk would face Lord Tensai "in a two-on-one handicap match next"...

Powell's POV: A very nice surprise. There was a bass-filled cheer for Heyman, but it wasn't a hero's welcome by any means. It appeared as thought most of the fans didn't know who Heyman was. Nevertheless, it's a nice surprise for longtime viewers. More importantly, it's good for Lesnar business to have Heyman involved. Brock has had his ups and downs on the mic so far. He's excellent in the backstage sit-down environment, but Heyman would definitely come in handy as the official mouthpiece to speak for Lesnar, particularly on weeks when Lesnar isn't at Raw.

Backstage, the USA Network actors who were in the crowd earlier gave Big Show a pep talk. The actors said they are investigators and would find out who Laurinaitis has photos of that allows him to keep his job. They clowned around and Show laughed. When he turned around, Eve was standing there...

C.M. Punk made his entrance for the main event. John Laurinaitis walked out before Punk could make it to the ring. Laurinaitis announced that Punk would have a handicap match against Tensai and Daniel Bryan... [C]

Powell's POV: It looks like Lawler accidentally let the cat out of the bag. He's usually spared from Vince McMahon's wrath on the headsets. Something tells me that won't be the case tonight if it was King's fault. What are the odds that King would screw up right after the last guy to replace him on color commentary showed up?

[Overrun] 5. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan and Lord Tensai (w/Sakamoto) in a handicap match. Tensai roughed up Punk early and then Bryan tagged in. Punk started to make a comeback on Bryan, but Tensai made a blind tag. Punk got some offense in on Tensai and dropped him with a kick to the head.

Punk went to the top rope. Sakamoto argued with the referee, which allowed Bryan to trip Punk. Tensai slammed Punk with a slam. He spit the green mist onto his hand and applied the claw. Tensai slammed Punk down with the claw hold on and pinned him. Bryan did the "Yes! Yes! Yes!" routine at ringside...

Lord Tensai and Daniel Bryan defeated C.M. Punk in a handicap match in 6:55.

After Tensai left the ring, Bryan worked over Punk and applied the Yes! Lock. Bryan yelled "Yes!" repeatedly and got a nice round of boos as he celebrated. Cole closed the show by saying that Laurinaitis made the point that there will be serious repercussions for failure to respect his authority...

Powell's POV: Odd booking to have Tensai go over given that Bryan will be challenging Punk at the pay-per-view. Granted, Bryan worked over Punk after the match, but Tensai got more of the spotlight. Tensai has now pinned the WWE Champion and the top babyface in the company, but it still doesn't seem to be clicking.

Overall, they did a good job of putting heat on Laurinaitis. I like the setup for the four-way match. I'm not crazy about four-way matches, but I must admit that the match is more appealing to me than the Sheamus vs. Del Rio match was on paper. The return of Heyman made it a newsworthy show for online fans. The live crowd didn't help enhance the product tonight. Obviously, a lot of that probably has to do with the lack of John Cena on the show, as correspondents in the building noted that it was a pro-Cena crowd. Thanks for watching along with me tonight.

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